By John Kendrick

Once every two hours one
of the large double deck

ferries enters Horseshoe Bay ©

and creates a. backwash so
strong that a considerable
amount of damage is done. to
‘the neighbouring _moorage
area belonging to Bay Boat
Rentais.

*The water tears. through

floats, drags anchors, and

breaks’ sternhooks with | a:

speed approaching 10 knots.

The owners of Bay. Boats, -
Jim and Sheila McKee, say

that they can 't keep uP. with problem. but a decision from

B.C.. Ferries. appears. to. be. a

the damage.

People looking for moor-
age are being turned back
until something is done

because it simply isn’t safe.

for small boats, and the
McKees’ business is suffer-
ing.

‘*Terrible, a mess, a farce,
disasterous’’...these | were
some of the words used by
the merchants on Lonsdale to
describe the Easter Carnival
outside their front doors last
week.

The main complaints from.

customers about the event,
which stopped traffic in the
blocks between 15th‘and 17th
Streets, was the noise and
the parking.

‘The general consensus
was that it did not help
business at all, and in many
cases business declined.

There has been some talk
of building a breakwater, and
a suggestion has also been

make to move the big ferries. -

to the middle of the three
berths, but this. creates a
problem with the doubledeck
loading ramps. ee

What ‘the “McKees i | * |
like to see is a continuation of ©
the solid steel-wall which is: a

part of the ferry slip. =

-

‘West Vancouver council is |
trying to help. solve. the

slow in coming.

wt 3

Tom Sewell of.'Sewell’s
Marina says that they have-
n't experienced ‘any trouble ..
with the backwash.”

-since

Teenagers proved to be a.

bit of a problem and the litter

that resulted upset some

store owners.

One manager complained
about live wires cluttering
the street and causing a
hazard to pedestrians.

Most of those directly
affected by the carnival felt
that it would be much better
if it were held in Mahon Park.

Surprisingly, the two fash-
ion shops inthe middle of the
block experienced an in-

for big ships,”’
‘he doubts if there i isa similar:

“in such a restricted space.

than on the main street.

they are on the other side of
the bay.

‘However, his main worry

is that. the: large, top-heavy

“ships might get caught in the

strong crosswinds that occur
in the area and lose control.

“The bay i is ‘not designed '
‘he says, and.

‘situation. in’ all. of. North

America where big. vessels.

and ‘small pleasure craft.
operate in such. close quart
ers. ;

Unlike the smaller ferries,

- which are not so much of a.

problem, the Queens of:
Cowichan and Coquitlam do ©
‘not have. side: propellers and > .:
are more difficult to operate ®

crease in business and had
little or no complaint about
the rides being outside their |
front doors. c

Gertie Todd “of. ‘Orchid :
Travel, who organized the :
parade and. the. Easter
Bonnet contest reported that :
those two events were a-
great success, but she too’
agreed that if the North.
Shore Business Association |
put the carnival on in future
years, it) might be better to :
stage it in Mahon Park rather.

MIDWAY AT 15TH STREET...it seemed like a good Iden at the time.